As Emergency Management Coordinator, part of David Grizzle’s job is to think about things most people would rather not think about – possible disasters, emergencies and hazards that could impact the citizens of Norman.

Every five years, the City of Norman collaborates with Cleveland County Emergency Management to produce a Hazard Mitigation Plan (HMP). The plan is mandated by the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) in order for counties and municipalities to receive FEMA funding. One component of the HMP is public input. As the third-largest city in the state, input from the City of Norman and its residents is an essential part of that plan.

“The City of Norman drives Cleveland County,” Grizzle said. “This kind of input is important and we need to ensure that we receive representative responses from each of Norman’s wards. It’s our job to listen (to residents) and develop a plan.”

In the past, community input has been one of the driving forces behind emergency management efforts like updating Norman’s network of warning sirens and providing financial assistance for residents installing storm shelters or safe rooms.

Amy Goodin, who served the University of Oklahoma as the director of the university’s Public Opinion Learning Laboratory, has crafted a digital survey to make it easier for residents to participate in the creation of the Hazard Mitigation Plan.

“We really feel ‘the more, the merrier’ when it comes to data collection,” she said. “We want a good reflection of the City of Norman. We just ask for one survey response per household.”

The survey can be accessed at https://tinyurl.com/59n9dxks.

Grizzle and his network of volunteers have delivered posters to businesses around Norman and handed out cards at an OU home football game to spread the word and encourage participation in the survey. The completed plan, including the citizens’ input, is to be completed and submitted to FEMA by July 2025. Goodin and Grizzle said they would like to have responses in by the end of the year in order to review and aggregate those responses into the plan.

“We need to educate people on what’s in the mitigation plan,” he said. “We do a lot of community outreach on preparedness. That also gets people thinking about mitigation.”

The Hazard Mitigation Plan includes more than just severe storm responses. Flooding, ice storms, extreme heat, wildfires, drought and dam failure are just some of the emergency situations for which the Emergency Management has developed plans.

Grizzle also said his office is happy to do presentations for community groups to encourage Norman residents to consider their own emergency response plans. Normanites can learn more about local Emergency Management and access resources at: https://www.normanok.gov/public-safety/fire-department/emergency-management.

###